What is the difference between cuny and suny colleges

The oldest, City College, was founded in , while the most recent, the School of Public Health, was founded in Historically, CUNY was grounded in the idea of easy access and social mobility.

The original school was free, and campuses once had open admissions. Today, the two-year community colleges still have open admissions although spaces may be limited , and low tuition combined with generous financial aid make a college education accessible to most people. Students take classes at their home institution, but can also participate in seminars, lectures, and events at the Macaulay building on Manhattan's Upper West Side.

All Macaulay students get a full in-state tuition scholarship, a laptop computer, a Cultural Passport, and other academic and cultural perks. The SUNY system is unusual among state university systems for its impressive breadth of relatively small colleges and universities. The entire system is made up of 64 institutions: 4 large university centers, 13 comprehensive four-year colleges, 7 specialized technology colleges, 30 community colleges, 5 graduate institutions, a statutory college at Alfred University, and 4 statutory colleges at Cornell University.

Like the CUNY system, admissions range from highly selective at schools such as Geneseo, Binghamton, and the Cornell statutory colleges, to open admission at the many community colleges.

The system's University Centers are large, comprehensive universities with broad offerings at the undergraduate and graduate levels. All grant doctoral degrees; the University at Buffalo has the system's sole law school. The price difference is especially significant for out-of-state students. The University Colleges are four-year institutions smaller than the University Centers, and they tend to have a predominantly undergraduate focus and a few master's programs. Selectivity can vary significantly from campus to campus.

The University Colleges are residential and most students live on campus. The Technology Colleges can be viewed as a marriage between a community college and a traditional four-year residential college.

The Technology Colleges offer two- and four-year degrees as well as some certificate programs. Many of the degree programs are in practical, technological fields. If you are looking to study within a specialized field, you might be more likely to find it within the SUNY system. Each system will have its own unique offerings. One other factor that contributes to cost is the need for room and board. This program, known as the Excelsior Scholarship , began as a result of a signed agreement in The one drawback is that students who accept this scholarship must stay and work in New York State for the amount of time they received the awarded tuition.

Since , NSHSS has supported young academics on their journey to college and beyond as they prepare to become the leaders of tomorrow. The mission behind NSHSS is to recognize academic excellence and honor high-achieving students, providing them with the resources and network to excel in college, career and community.

In doing so, NSHSS connects members with global events, scholarship opportunities , college fairs, internships, career and leadership programs , partner discounts, and more. Password Recovery To recover your password please fill in your email address Email. Submit Back To Login. Don't Have An Account Yet? However, SUNY schools do generally have a stronger academic reputation, particularly the university center schools.

However, reputation can also vary widely depending on what field you want to study, so if you have an idea of what you want to major in, it's a good idea to research that specific major at the schools you're interested in.

Net costs for SUNY, while still more affordable than the majority of other public colleges, vary more depending on which school you attend, and some have requirements that freshmen must live on campus.

However, tuition is lower at SUNY for out-of-state students. The program is known as the Excelsior Scholarship , and it does require you to stay and work in New York State after your scholarship for the amount of time for which you received your tuition award.

While both schools have traditional four-year schools and community colleges, SUNY has a wider variety of schools and degree offerings. Both have diverse student bodies, as well as many students who come from immigrant families or are immigrants themselves, as well as students who are the first in their families to attend college.

You can have vastly different college experiences depending on which of the SUNY or CUNY schools you decide to attend, however there are some general trends to be aware of. Most CUNY students are commuters, and this means both you could spend a long time getting to class each day CUNY commutes are notoriously long and have less of a traditional college experience because few students live together in dorms.

Both also have a wide variety of student clubs and activities to help students feel more a part of the school. Work through the four steps below to find the best school for you.

Not all the schools offer the same academic programs, so if you're set on a certain area of study, you want to make sure you attend a school that offers it. Using these tools, you can select a major or field of study you're interested in and see which schools offer it. If you're not sure what to study, that's fine; many students don't know until they're in college. However, you should have a good idea of what type of school you want to attend, whether a community college , technical school, or a traditional four-year school.

Otherwise, you could have a difficult time narrowing down which schools to apply to and attend, and you might end up at a school that doesn't offer the types of programs or degrees you're interested in.

There are tons of factors to consider when thinking about your ideal college experience. Are you dreaming of attending school in New York City?

If so, then CUNY will give you more options. Do you want a classic college experience, complete with living in the dorms and having most of your friends on campus? Then SUNY colleges are probably a better fit for you. Consider these factors when thinking about what you want from college:. Some schools in these systems are much more difficult to get into than others, and it's important you have a solid understanding of which SUNY and CUNY schools are your safety schools , which are your target schools , and if any of them are reach schools.

Then you can be sure you apply to at least some schools that you have a solid chance of getting into but will also be appropriately challenging for you. You'll do this by comparing your GPA and test scores to averages of the schools you're interested in. If they're close to the same, then that's a target school, and if they're significantly above the school's, then it's a safety school. We recommend applying to at least one school in each category.